Race for the roses

START YOUR ENGINES • 47th Rose Cup race features two sons with family history in the event

By JEFF ZURSCHMEIDE

The Portland Tribune, Jun 1, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

©2007 Doug Berger

Todd Harris, owner of ProDrive Driving School at PIR, follows in his father’s footsteps racing in the Rose Cup this weekend. Harris will drive a new DerHaag Corvette built for the Trans-Am professional racing series.

This year is the centennial celebration of the Portland Rose Festival. And as part of that momentous anniversary, this weekend also marks the 47th annual running of the Rose Cup races.

To observe the occasion, the Rose Festival has a big show planned for racing fans.

The Rose Cup races began in 1961 as a Rose Festival event organized by the Jaycees. At the time, Portland International Raceway was just a bunch of old derelict streets left over from the Vanport flood of 1948.

The race was successful, so the Rose Festival brought it back again the next year. Since then, the Rose Cup has become a civic institution.

No one is more closely associated with the race than local auto dealer Monte Shelton. Shelton drove in the first Rose Cup race, and took the first of his seven victories in 1972.

His most recent victory came in 2005, driving a controversial Porsche 962 Le Mans racing car. This year for the first time, his son, Neil Shelton, will pilot the 600 horsepower Porsche in the race.

“I’m going in with a careful, cautious attitude. I don’t want to crash myself or anyone else, so I’m being conservative,” the younger Shelton says.

Even driving with caution, this could be the beginning of a new chapter in the Shelton family history with the Rose Cup.

“Honestly, that part had not crossed my mind. Now, as I’m getting farther in, the pressure is starting to mount and build. It’s a big deal to a lot of people, including me and dad,” Shelton says.

But the trophy is not something you just walk up and claim.

There are many great drivers who dream of winning the race this year. A few of those dreamers also have a plan to win.

Leading the pack in the prerace warm-ups is Todd Harris, owner of ProDrive Driving School at PIR. Few racers have as much experience at PIR as Harris, and he intends to reach the top of the podium this year.

To do that, Harris partnered with local entrepreneur Nick Fluge and their team will field a new DerHaag Corvette, built for the Trans-Am professional racing series.

1 | 2 Next Page >>

Facebook	Digg	Del.icio.us
Newsvine	Stumbleupon	Reddit